The present invention relates generally to electronic wagering systems and methods, and more particularly, to a system and method of creating and placing wagers as a gift by a first user using an electronic wager server such that any winnings are received by a second user, the intended recipient of the gift.
The expansion of electronic devices, such as personal computers and cellular phones, into the homes, offices, and thus xe2x80x9cday to dayxe2x80x9d lives of the average consumers has also expanded and opened multiple and diverse avenues in entertainment and business. For instance, with the growing acceptance and maturing of the personal computer and along with it, communication media such as the satellite television and the Internet, electronic shopping has become commonplace and especially convenient for consumers. Hence, finding and ordering a gift has become even easier. However, providing a gift that is different and entertaining is not easily found.
Wagering, risking something, such as a sum of money, on an outcome of an uncertain event, is often entertaining. However, in traditional wagering environments, money is wagered by an individual on an outcome of a particular event and based on the wager and the outcome of the particular event, the individual is given or paid a particular amount of money or loses the money wagered. Therefore, the entertainment or enjoyment of the wager is usually isolated to the individual wagerer and any other persons that happen to be around the wagerer at the time. Therefore, even through the use of blossoming communication media providing a worldwide market for both consumers and retailers, the entertainment of the wager is usually shared by one individual, the wagerer.
Providing the individual to share the wagering experience to another individual may well benefit both the individual setting up the wager and the other individual.
The present invention provides an electronic wagering system in which a user or consumer, a gift giver, is able to create or select a bet or wager as a gift for another person, a gift recipient. The gift recipient is then notified of the gift giver""s gift, the wager, and provided any winnings resulting from the wager.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method that provides a gift wager by a first user to a second user and the method comprises composing a gift wager by a first user through a communication media, the gift wager including a particular event and a payoff associated to an outcome of the particular event. The method further comprises obtaining contact information regarding a second user, notifying the second user that a gift wager has been composed by the first user prior to the outcome of the particular event, and providing result data to the second user in response to the outcome of the particular event.
In another aspect of the invention, an electronic wager system is provided to provide a gift wager by a first user to a second user. The electronic wagering system includes communication means providing a conduit to receive input from a first user concerning a gift wager for a second user, the gift wager pertaining to a wager, a particular event, and contact data concerning a second user and computer means storing the gift wager from the first user and tracking the particular event, the computer means sending result data to the second user prior in response to an outcome of the particular event.
In another aspect of the invention, an electronic wager system includes a first user computer utilized by a first user and coupled to a first communication medium, a second user computer utilized by a second user and coupled to a second communication medium, and a wager server coupled to the first communication medium and the second communication medium. The wager server includes a memory storage in which at least one wager record is stored in the memory storage, the at least one wager record pertaining to a predetermined event, and a wager engine configured to receive information from the first user computer to compose the at least one wager record, to determine an outcome of the predetermined event and to transmit information regarding the outcome of the predetermined event to the second user computer.